Situations like this can have potentially deadly results. (Facebook/Muskoday Volunteer Fire Dept.)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public safety

Local fire departments encouraging residents to be furnace savvy

Dec 31, 2021 | 3:00 PM

The Fire Chief for Prince Albert’s Fire Department is reminding the public to keep vents clear and to have a working carbon monoxide detector in the house

This comes after several incidents recently related to a malfunction which, according to Kris Olsen, resulted in high carbon monoxide readings in the house

“We all know how deadly that gas is,” he said.

Early Tuesday afternoon, the city’s fire department responded to the 1300 block of Third St. E. for Residential Fire Alarms. Upon arrival, crews discovered that a CO alarm was sounding in the mechanical room and high levels of CO were found. Firefighters then ventilated the building and SaskEnergy was called to the scene.

SaskEnergy’s investigation found that the furnace wasn’t exhausting properly and was leaking CO into the home. The gas was shut off to the furnace until repairs could be completed. Fortunately there were no injuries to report. While the exact cause of the problem is unclear, Olsen stressed the importance of general preventative maintenance, like “ensuring that your intakes are not covered in snow and your vents are clear; and regular maintenance as in changing your filter,” he said.

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And while there has been no cases this year, Olsen also discouraged people from running a combustible engine inside the garage without proper ventilation.

Earlier this week, members of the Muskoday Volunteer Fire Department visited Elders in the community to make sure furnace vents were not obstructed by snow and they found several problematic cases.

“This is a serious problem that can shut down furnaces and lead to CO2 poisoning. Everyone should take a few minutes to make sure your vents are clear,” a statement on the department’s Facebook page read.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell